By Mark Baber
April 17 – The establishment of an ASEAN Super League took a step closer as senior figures within the Asean Football Federation (AFF) briefed the media on the project which was discussed at a separate AFF briefing on April 3.
Whilst the league could begin as early as 2014 with eight teams, in the long run it is envisaged that 16 teams would be involved from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
AFF council member and AFC Vice-President Prince Abdullah Ibni Sultan Ahmad Shah said: “The Member Associations of the AFF were briefed on the potential benefits including the financial forecasts for the participating clubs. The concerns raised by the Member Associations, such as the impact to domestic leagues and the sustainability of the ASL were answered during the briefing (on April 3).”
Prince Abdullah added, “The AFF has agreed to further develop the proposed concept of the Asean Super League together with World Sports Group to be presented to the AFC in the near future.”
Further discussions are expected to be held after a new AFC President is elected on May 2 with the project believed to involve the setting up of franchise clubs, on the US or Australian model, in order to maintain independence in the running of the league from local federations.
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